Category Archives: Animals

New Yorkers own hundreds of thousands of cats, dogs, farm animals and other pets. Thus, it is not surprising that accidents and injuries caused by animals are a fertile source of litigation. Several recent examples follow.

In an action for negligence arising out of the escape of a bull owned by defendants, Supreme Court granted plaintiff’s motion to the extent of finding that plaintiff sustained a serious injury within the meaning of the insurance law.

Defendant was charged, as follows, with violating Agriculture and Markets Law § 353:

The deponent states that, at the above time and place, deponent observed two pit bulls in the backyard of defendant’s residence, that deponent observed said dogs to have sores on the pelvic area, extremely emaciated, prominent ribs, spine, pelvic bones, exaggerated hour glass torsos, and food and water bowls to be empty and rusted.

During the past several months our courts, at all levels, have issued a vast and unusual number of decisions relating to the “vicious propensities” of dogs; canine “custody disputes; animal and pet related claims of negligence; and the “three month rule”.

Appellate Term summarily affirmed, as follows, the judgment of Civil Court, after a bench trial, dismissing the petition:

In this holdover proceeding predicated, . . . on a claim that tenant, Alexander Kuravsky, violated his lease by harboring a dog without landlord’s consent, the Civil Court dismissed the petition after a nonjury trial, finding that landlord’s failure to commence the proceeding within three months of learning of the dog’s presence in the subject apartment constituted a waiver of landlord’s right to enforce the no-pet provision of the lease [ ].

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